Patrick Wilson is joining Ant-Man, to be directed by Edgar Wright, in a role that is yet to be revealed. He was often brought up by speculators as a good choice for Hank Pym, the originator of the Ant-Man technology, but he won’t have that role in the film.

Wilson adds to the existing roster of Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, and Michael Pena. Rudd is playing Scott Lang, at one point a thief and eventually the second Ant-Man, while Douglas is playing Pym. Read More »

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Briefly: Six months ago, who would have though James Wan’s The Conjuring would itself conjure not one, but two, follow-ups? A spin-off, Annabelle, is currently filming. Now Warner Bros. has set a prime October 23, 2015 release date for the direct sequel to the paranormal investigation film. Carey Hayes and Chad Hayes are writing and Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are now confirmed to return. There’s no word on the plot, but Lorraine Warren was again interviewed extensively as research. [ERCboxoffice and Variety]

Jason Blum made a heck of a lot of money for Universal last summer. His film The Purge cost just $3 million to make and raked in nearly $90 million at the global box office. Nevertheless, Universal apparently isn’t feeling too great about his next project for the studio. Universal has scrapped plans to release Joe Carnahan‘s Stretch, just two months before it was set to open. Hit the jump to find out why.

The first trailer for James Wan‘s Insidious: Chapter 2 probably raised more questions than it answered, especially for those who know the first film well. This new international trailer kicks off in exactly the same manner as that first look, but it doesn’t run long before it veers into some new footage. We see a bit more of the supernatural torment that lies in wait for the characters played by Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson, and there are hints of Wilson’s character’s past.

And don’t worry, spoilerphobes, there’s still no explicit answer to the question of what that trailer-end ghost was pointing at, and only a small hint of that new wrinkle for the story that Wan talked about when Germain interviewed him a few weeks back. Read More »

There’s a great bit of stage banter from Tom Waits where he jokes about someone leaning over during a movie to insist “you know, this is based on a true story.” The question from Waits is: does that really make the film any better?

I’ve seen James Wan‘s new film, The Conjuring, and despite the fact that the film begins with a card that says it is based on a true story, I assumed it was one of those Texas Chainsaw Massacre things — a gentle little lie to give the story a bit of weight. Then I remembered that, in fact, this is based on something from reality. The Conjuring brings to the screen a story from the archives of the same husband and wife team that later investigated a famous house in Amityville, New York.

There’s a healthy collection of really well-done haunting scenes in the film, and while it’s probably better to just watch it as a movie, this new trailer gives the real-life family a chance to speak for the first time. If you’ll find a horror film more frightening knowing that it is based in reality, then this is definitely the trailer for you. Read More »

Following a solid box office performance by The Purge, Universal is getting back into business with Blumhouse Productions for another microbudget genre pic. Only this one falls a bit outside Jason Blum‘s usual horror wheelhouse.

The studio is set to distribute the Blum-produced, Joe Carnahan-directed Stretch, an action comedy starring Patrick Wilson. Ed Helms and Chris Pine have also signed on in recent weeks, and now Brooklyn Decker has come aboard as well. Get details on her character and the new release date after the jump.

UPDATE: A few minor tweaks have been made to this story since it was first published.

Preliminary details on Joe Carnahan‘s latest film, a small budget thriller produced by horror guru Jason Blum, have now been revealed. We already knew it was called Stretch and that Patrick Wilson (Insidious, Watchmen) would be the star. Now Ed Helms, whose summer scheduled freed up when Vacation was put on hold, has been cast. According to reports, Wilson plays a down on his luck chauffeur who takes a risky job driving around a mysterious billionaire to settle some debts. Helms plays a colleague, of sorts, to Wilson and Chris Pine also stars. Read More »

Insidious Chapter 2probably shouldn’t exist. It’s the sequel to a 2011 film starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne and Barbara Hershey that was made for $1.5 million. Released with zero expectations, the tiny little film exploded at the box office, grossing almost $60 million, a success ratio that puts it in firmly blockbuster range.

Now director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell have brought back the entire cast to pick up the pieces of their haunted house story with an inventive twist. The first Insidious was one of those movies that begs for conversation after. It created a story about people who could astrally project themselves into other worlds and, sometimes, bring back horrible things from a place called “the Further.” Ending on a crazy cliffhanger, fans have clamored for a sequel ever since, hoping to find out what was really happening in the first movie.

The first footage of that sequel, Insidious Chapter 2, is finally here in the form of its first trailer. Scheduled for release on September 13, the film picks up seconds after the original ended making Insidious Chapter 2 look just like the first movie, but with a decidedly bigger feel. Read More »